
Well they are friends the other days of the week too, but as it turns out Friday night was the night we invited these particular friends to dinner. I love looking forward to a night of basking in the company of good friends. It is a celebration, a happy time to enjoy one another’s company.
Of course, I like it even more when the meal practically makes itself. Whenever I make my favorite lasagna, I make two, then I bake one for dinner and freeze the second one for later. This particular Friday as luck would have it, I pulled a lasagna out of my freezer. I usually make sausage lasagna, but once in awhile I make a vegetarian lasagna. To compliment the layers of vegetables & cheese, my friend brought a pile of sausages for us to grill on the barbecue. It is a nice trick if you have a mixture of friends who are both vegetarian and non.
Because the main dish only needed to visit the oven before being done, I had time to focus on making a sampling of appetizers, a more exotic salad, and to try my hand at a new grilled rosemary flat bread recipe. To be honest, this menu would be perfect with only one or two of the appetizers/tapas and a leafy green salad (like the one I tried the other day: romaine lettuce with just fresh dill and blue cheese dressing). You could even skip the flat bread and buy your favorite artisan loaf, cut it up and offer oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. Voila!
So invite your friends over already!
Dinner Menu
Sangria
Simple Summer Tapas
Yellow Beans w/Leeks & Prosciutto
Endive Walnut Salad
Vegetarian Lasagna (guess you will have to wait for this recipe)
Grilled Sausages







It must be a sin. It felt like one: there I was, perched gingerly on the store floor, scanning the shelves and boxes of just-arrived cook-loving books at the half price book store (Half price? My husband teases me: you are spending money to save money?). I am Dutch after all: I am a SUCKER for good deals. No doubt when the deal is good, my left hand hardly knows what my right is doing. Doesn’t that ring of wrongdoing?
Baked goods are best fresh, right out of the oven and the same day they are made. Why is that anyway? Because after they come out of the oven, they continue to lose moisture. And moreover, when you see the day-old pastries for sale at your corner coffee shop, they are usually individually wrapped in saran wrap. Do you know why? Because it helps keep that same moisture in just a little bit more than if it sat in a case, exposed to the air. I am already appreciating the science behind baking.
Another example:


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